Let's Pretend At Love
by HorizonCold
Summary: Wufei and Trowa hatch a plot to prove to their friends they can survive in the game of love. Eventual 5x3.
1. The Plan

**Let's Pretend At Love**

**Yes, it's an old and overused plot. But I'm going to use it anyway. :) All rights to Gundam Wing don't belong to me, just in case you had the tiniest suspicion otherwise. **

If Wufei got another paper cut, he was residing from his office duties at the Preventers and reserving himself only for mission work. He stuck his abused thumb in his mouth with a sigh. He hated having to work overtime at his home. He hated having to pay for the two-bedroom house located in the boondocks alone. He hated knowing he needed the desk job to pay for the house.

The next time he saw Duo, he was going to kill the idiot for refusing to write reports in legible print. Or in a language Wufei was fluent in. He tossed Duo's folder to the side, picking up the wonderfully last folder in the pile. He always saved Trowa's folder for last when in came to monthly filing. The French man was always clear, concise, and neat.

Flipping quickly through the pages, a red marking on Trowa's personal information card caught his eye. According to the mark, Trowa's place of residency had been changed. With another sigh, he reached for his cell phone and hit speed dial three.

"Salut?"

"Barton, I was reviewing your file and came across a problem."

"I'm fine, Wufei, thanks for asking. How are you?"

"In your file—"

"Not until you answer the question."

"I'm tired and growing more irritated by the second."

"Sorry to hear that. Please continue."

"You're worse than Maxwell."

"Am not."

"I have in your file that your residence was terminated eight days ago."

"Why is that a problem?"

"There's no new address."

"I'm staying at a hotel until I can find a new place. Not many apartment complexes downtown enjoy having a tenant in law enforcement."

Wufei understood Trowa could not afford a nicer apartment or a house outside of the city. Staying in a hotel was probably eating up what little he had saved, also meaning that whatever hotel he had found was most likely of poor quality. Wufei frowned into the phone. "Why haven't you told anyone you needed a place to stay?"

"This coming from the man of pride himself?"

"Quatre would have happily opened his home to you."

"He's been busy."

Remembering Quatre's sudden announcement the week before concerning his relationship with Relena Peacecraft, Wufei quickly decided to terminate the subject. The admission made by the Winner heir had made a negative impact on Trowa, making him noticeably cheerless and quieter than normal. Also remembering how Trowa had offered his ear and shoulder to Wufei when Sally had terminated their relationship, he realized he owed Trowa the courtesy of a bedroom. "You can live here."

"Really?"

Wufei would've had to been deaf not to have heard the relief and pleasure in Trowa's voice. "Of course. You can come over tonight to work out the details."

"Great. Thanks Wufei."

"You're welcome."

Rubbing his temples, hoping he hadn't made a mistake, Wufei chose a book from a nearby shelf and settled down into his armchair for some well-deserved relaxation. Through the course of an hour, he only took a break to boil water for some tea. The sky was dark by the time he heard the wheels of Trowa's pickup truck crunch on the dirt path outside.

Opening his front door, he ushered Trowa in, taking off his worn civilian jacket and laying it over his own on the coffee table. "Take your shoes off by the door, please."

"Right. Sorry."

"Are you hungry? There's plenty of food in the fridge if you don't oppose to cheap Chinese."

"Actually, I have a plan I want to run by you first. There's an overwhelming possibility that you'll reject it, but I'm going to try anyway considering it'll help us both out."

"Go ahead."

"Let's pretend to be in love."

Wufei felt mouth drop open slightly, but he snapped it shut. He decided Trowa deserved to be heard out before he was dismissed. Violently dismissed, if necessary. He sat back down in his armchair, placing his book on the coffee table on top of their jackets. "Elaborate."

Sensing the refusal waiting on Wufei's tongue, Trowa kneeled down in front of chair and laid his arms across the Chinese man's lap. He knew Wufei would listen better if his personal space was intruded upon, giving him less room to be confident in his own ideas. "Before Quatre started dating Relena, I told him that I had a crush on someone. I'm obviously in love with him and I thought he was in love with me too, so I allowed my descriptions to get a little too close to the truth. Ever since he told us, I've been depressed, and he's noticed. I need someone else to name as my crush."

"And how would I benefit?"

"You know everyone around the office still believes you to be heartbroken over Sally. No more pitying looks, no more false flirtations to make you feel better, no more soft condolences from Lady Une…"

"Your point is made." And the point was much better than Wufei had expected. He was growing sick of the manner his coworkers were treating him. He wasn't heartbroken, not anymore. He simply wasn't ready to start dating like Sally had. To him, dating was false and ridiculous. He wanted whole deal or nothing at all.

"If we acted like boyfriends, I wouldn't humiliate myself in front of Quatre and you would be left alone. You mentioned once that you are bisexual, right?"

"I have never been in love with a man, but I am not closed to the experience."

"Then this won't be too hard for you to pull off?"

Wufei turned his onyx eyes on the long, slender arms crossed on his knees. He had no trouble admitting to himself that he would never have trouble finding Trowa attractive. Even now, the fire burning near his armchair was being reflected in emerald gems, dancing along with the teasing knowledge Trowa always held in his gaze. "I suppose not."

"How do you want to start?"

"You can blame your recent depression upon stress over losing your apartment."

"But I have a place to stay now and I'm bound to stay depressed over Quatre's girlfriend in later situations."

"You have to act as if you're not. If you fail and anyone asks why you are melancholy, tell them I was hesitant to begin our relationship, making you concerned about the true depth of my feelings."

"You're surprisingly good at this."

"If we are going to pull this charade off, Barton, we have to do it right. Your strengths hardly lie in strategy, so I'll be creating the majority of our plans."

Trowa let out a low laugh, arching up in an elegant stretch and tapping Wufei's nose with his index finger. "You're right. You're the better strategist out of the two of us. But I am more adept at infiltration and performance. The most important question is whether either of us is any good at romance."

Wufei rubbed his nose, standing up and brushing past Trowa to pour a cup of tea. "How much romancing does an ex-mercenary need, exactly?"

Trowa followed his friend into the kitchen, crossing his arms and leaning on the counter. "I happen to enjoy being romanced, thank-you very much. Not that I ever have been, but the idea is appealing."

"Don't get your hopes up."

"I can romance you in return."

"No. I'm the man in this relationship. You are the woman."

"It doesn't have to be man and woman, Wufei. But if you'd rather play the dominant position, I'm fine with that."

"Only because you won't have to dish out money for the flowers."

Trowa smiled, reaching over and plucking Wufei's cup from his hand and taking a long sip. "You'd buy me flowers? This needs more sugar."

"To fool the others, yes. I don't buy sugar."

"Make sure they're gardenias. You do now."

Wufei jerked back his cup with a glare, but there was no anger within it. To be honest with himself, he was glad to be getting a roommate after weeks of oppressive silence since Sally had moved out. Although Trowa often frustrated him with pointed gibes and unshakable cockiness, he was capable of intelligent conversation and comfortable silences. Trowa was also very clean, which would help the condition of his organized but rather neglected house. "Where are your belongings?"

"In my truck."

"You want to move in tonight?"

"If you don't mind. The guest room is across from yours, right?"

"Yes, but put your clothes in my dresser and closet. I have space to spare and it will help our act if anyone decides to snoop around."

"Excellent idea. All I have left then besides bathroom items are my laptop, my gun, a picture of Catherine, and my flute."

"Place as you wish."

"I'm not burdening you, am I?"

"You can earn your keep by helping me repaint this weekend."

Trowa nodded at looked around at the overflowing sink and the trashcan full of paper plates. "Not to mention some housekeeping. And some yard work. The deck could use some refinishing as well."

"You're willing to do all that?"

"I'm nothing if not a hard worker, Wufei. And as a former mercenary, I hate being in anyone's debt."

Wufei turned and fixed a second cup, sweetening the herbal liquid with honey. He placed the warm drink in Trowa's hand. "Welcome home."

Trowa smiled down at his tea before wrapping his arms around Wufei in a light hug. "So we're agreed on this?"

Taking a deep breath, Wufei patted his friend's back before disengaging. "Agreed."


	2. The First Act

Wufei plopped the empty can of sky blue paint into the trash before heading out into the yard to find Trowa. Wiping at dried flecks of the dark paint on his forehead, he located the other man laying down in the grass near a new sapling, watching the sunset. Trowa' normal turtleneck had been replaced with a worn t-shirt and his white jeans were thoroughly stained with soil. Over the course of two days, they had cleaned the inside of the house, weeded the outside gardens, planted greenery of Trowa's choice, and repainted the bedrooms. Coupling this toil with his daily martial arts exercises in the morning, Wufei was exhausted. His muscles were sore with the steady ache of physical labor, not enough to cause real pain, but enough to send him stretching out in the grass next to his new housemate.

"Why did we do this?"

"Because it was fun and you're too nice to have let me done it on my own."

"Barton, bickering at the hardware store with a middle-aged version of Duo Maxwell over what defines jade versus puke green was hardly fun."

"It was for me. Besides, your room turned out great."

"We've had little time to discuss our plans."

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me exactly what you told Quatre about him when describing your crush."

Trowa pouted, rolling on his side to prop his chin upon Wufei's chest. "It's embarrassing. You'll mock me."

"You have my word I will not. I need to know what qualifications I must live up to."

"He asked me what I admired most about my crush so I listed his intelligence and his kindness. Intelligence you can easily cover and you're usually even-tempered with me. He also asked me what was physically attractive about him, so I narrowed it down to his eyes and his hair. You have intense eyes, but you'll have to start wearing your hair down more."

"I will do no such thing."

Trowa wiggled his fingers underneath Wufei's neck to playfully tug on the ponytail. "We can mess it up a little. Make it look like we've been making out."

"I suppose on break tomorrow we can disappear and I can return less organized than usual. We can force something against your lips to make them appear swollen."

"You really are intelligent. Hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to seeing how fast they can figure it out."

"Figure out we're fooling them all to save our own conceit?"

"No. How fast they come to believe we're a couple."

"They will each be hard to deceive in their own right. Quatre is skilled at sensing other's feelings and may be able to see the truth. Duo, despite his incredible idiocy, is often very insightful and may be able to figure out our intentions. Heero knows our contrasting personalities too well to quickly believe we're intimately involved."

"We'll just have to be good then." Trowa smiled. "A grand-stand show."

"How long must this show be?"

"Until one of gets asked out by someone else, I guess. We'll fake a huge argument and put an end to the partnership."

"An argument over what?"

"We can decide that when it comes. But for now, we should sleep. We have work tomorrow and I'm beat."

Wufei stood up and lent a hand to Trowa to help him do the same. Not letting go, he looked at their joined hands for a long moment, noticing for the first time how different they were. Where Trowa was pale and slender, he was bronze and solid. But they were both undeniably strong, calluses from battle still lingering. "We'll have to get used to holding hands."

Trowa laced their fingers together, jokingly swinging their arms between them as they started walking to the house. "Don't worry. Neither of us is going to explode from prolonged human contact."

They spent most of their work days separated, Trowa spending most of his time in physical training and Wufei in his office. Several days out of the week, Trowa would be away on missions while Wufei rarely left the building. Occasionally though, Wufei would be saved from boredom with a special request from his former co-pilots for his assistance on a mission. Also, all the ex-gundam pilots were expected to spend their lunch hour together whenever possible, mainly under Quatre's orders in the name of 'bonding'.

Usually by the time lunch was over, Wufei was happy to high-tail it back to his desk. Especially when Duo insisted on pouring salt in his tea. Or hot sauce in his soup. Or honey under his shirt.

Cursing as he searched his drawers for his ever-elusive paperclips, he promised himself again for exact some kind of revenge soon. If only Yuy would actually allow him to turn the braided idiot's hair pink.

"Wufei? Are you in?"

Jumping at the knock on his door, Wufei sent paperclip-less files scattering to the floor. Biting back his irritation, he growled at the door. "Come in!"

Trowa slid in, bending down to help pick up the papers. "Are these classified, or am I allowed to touch?"

"I trust your secrecy. What do you want?"

"You're grumpy." Trowa tapped his friend's brow, right over the crinkled line between his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find any damn paperclips."

Standing up, Trowa picked up a small box from on top a file cabinet, shaking its contents with a smirk. "These?"

"I hate you."

"Great. Now you have to kiss me."

"Pardon?"

"It's lunch time. We need to be fashionably late and unfashionably ruffled." With a quick flick of his wrist, Trowa dropped the box and released Wufei's hair from its bonds. Tucking the hair band in his pocket, he watched as a wave of onyx hair hit the Chinese man's shoulders. "Pretty."

"Shut up. My office is too public. We need a supply closet."

"Classic." Taking Wufei's hand, Trowa pulled him down the hair into the janitor's room, flicking on the dim overhead light before locking them in. "How's this?"

Wufei promptly ripped the top button off of Trowa's uniform. "It's fine."

"Hey! I can get penalized for that!"

"What are you doing to do about it, Barton? Knock me out with a broom?"

"Don't tempt me. Now stand still." Trowa disheveled Wufei's hair, running his fingers completely through a few times. "You said yesterday that I need swollen lips. How do we do that?"

Wufei shook the invading fingers away and held his hand up to Trowa's mouth, forcing down hard but not enough to actually injure. "Such a nice way to shut you up."

"Hrmmph."

"What was that?"

"Hrmph!"

"Didn't quite catch you."

Trowa stuck out his tongue.

"Ugh!" Wufei wiped his now-wet hand on his uniform, even as Trowa proceeded to ruffle his shirt.

"I said I think we're ready, if we take the long way to the lunchroom. Heero already asked me about our living together this morning when he saw me file my new address. He probably mentioned it to Duo, so everyone in Preventers should know by now we're sharing a house."

Wufei checked the hallway, waiting until someone was in direct sight before pulling Trowa out. "Any suspicions on Heero's part?"

"Sadly, no. Only chastisements for living out of my truck for a week."

"Out of your truck? You told me you had a hotel room."

"Uh…"

Taking a few moments to again bite back his irritation, Wufei decided to reinforce his earlier offer. "You know you are welcome to stay with me as long as you desire. I'm not sure how Sally's old mattress sleeps, but I'm sure it is more comfortable for you than your front seat."

Just as Wufei pushed open the door to the lunchroom, Trowa leaned down and kissed his cheek. "Merci. I'll take you up on that."

"Please do so. I've enjoyed your company this weekend. Even if you did coerce me into physical suffering." Wufei left to get his food from the service line while Trowa took his bagged meal to their table, joining their three comrades with leftover honey chicken and fried rice from Wufei's refrigerator, plus a soda from the drink machine.

When he joined the group, Wufei picked up the soda and took a sip before sitting down. "What is this?"

"Cherry cola." Trowa took back the cup with a sheepish grin. "Cathy got me hooked. Do you want me to get you one?"

"I can find other ways to savor the taste." Wufei took a seat between Trowa and Quatre. "Sorry we're late."

Duo stole the pudding off of Wufei's tray. "Did you two get into a fight, meanie butt?"

Wufei snatched back his pudding with snarl. "No, we did not. My hair band snapped, you juvenile twit."

Trowa played with the ends of Wufei's hair. "I think it looks hot. In that intellectual sort of way."

Heero pounded Quatre's back as the Arabian nearly choked on his salad. "Trowa, did you just…"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, guess I let that slip out."

Wufei resisted the urge to shake his head in amusement, knowing Trowa was thoroughly enjoying rubbing his 'relationship' in the face of the man who broke his heart. Even Wufei had presumed the two would end up together, but Quatre had surprised everyone by not only admitting his love for Relena, but also his heterosexuality. "I'll take it as a compliment."

Duo yanked on Trowa's collar. "You're missing a button. Isn't that against protocol, Heero?"

"Last time I checked. You didn't notice it was missing this morning, Barton?"

Wufei deftly removed Duo's grip off of Trowa's clothes with more energy than he normally would have used. "The button was there this morning when he dressed. It must have fallen off later."

"Ouch. Chill, Fei. I was joking—he won't get in trouble for a single button."

"If you don't mind me asking, Wufei, did you see Trowa this morning?"

Heero cleared his throat. "I can answer that, Quatre. Trowa lost his apartment because his landlord is a prejudiced asshole, so he's moved in with Wufei."

Duo laughed, winking at the new housemates in jest. "Next thing you know, Tro and Fei will be shacking up together!"

Heero and Quatre laughed, but Wufei sent another snarl in the American's direction as Trowa looked shyly down at his chicken. "And what would be so bad about me and Trowa becoming a couple, you mindless idiot?"

"Cause it's weird, justice freak."

Trowa poked at his food with a chopstick, letting his voice sound shaky. "How would it be weird?"

Duo opened his mouth again, but his lover pinched his arm before he could reply to Trowa's question. "Ow! Heero! What was that for? Everyone's beating me up today."

Heero patted the wound he inflicted, kissing the American's lips to sooth the inner hurt. "Duo, stop for a second. You're not as stupid as Chang makes you out to be. Don't prove him right."

"What do you mean?"

"Maxwell, Trowa and I are _living _together now."

Quatre dropped his knife amid his lettuce and tomato, splattering up bits of ranch sauce onto the table. "Oh my. C-congratulations, both of you."

Duo's eyes widened almost impossibly. "So you two are getting to be pretty close…friends?"

"Not just friends." Wufei wrapped his arm around Trowa's waist, pulling him closer. The taller man leaned into the half-embrace, putting on a timid expression before closing his eyes and snuggling into Wufei's silky hair. "We're boyfriends."


	3. Growing Bonds

**Thanks to those who have reviewed. Hope you continue to enjoy. **

They needed a new trashcan. Not only was theirs painted bright yellow with little chickens on it—courtesy of Sally—but it was also much too small for the demands Wufei placed on it. As he struggled to pull the bag away from the chickens' fierce clutches, he reflected on their plan. 'Operation Desperate' he had silently titled it.

What bothered Wufei the most about Heero's, Duo's, and Quatre's reactions was how well they had all accepted the false relationship as true. Naturally, there had been some initial shock considering they had believed Trowa to love Quatre and Wufei to love Sally, but after a few awkward stares and swear words, the relationship had been welcomed literally with open arms. Trowa had written their reactions off with slight disappointment, having desired a blow-up scene, but the whole situation got under Wufei's skin.

If their closest friends didn't see a problem with them being lovers…then why shouldn't they be?

Wufei shook the thought from his head, pressing down the trash in the garbage bag with his shoed foot, hoping he wouldn't have to take it out if he could make more room. He told himself he was simply lonely. Almost immediately after their declaration in the Preventer's lunchroom, Trowa was called on a mission to the colonies, forcing him to be absent for the next four days.

The house had been empty when Sally left, but her leaving was expected. Everything Sally wanted or needed, he couldn't give. She wanted to party on the weekends, but the pounding noise and flashing lights reminded Wufei too much of the battlefield. His pride wouldn't let him admit that to her, so he sat on the sidelines while she danced and dealt with the nightmares later into the night. She wanted a bigger house closer to the city, one they could marry within and raise a family in. He didn't want to marry. He had already been married. He didn't want kids. She wanted real and warm conversation when they arrived home in the evenings. He couldn't open up to her, no matter how hard he tried.

Wufei threw the trash bag out the front door onto the porch. He'd take it to the dumpster later. He leaned against the doorframe for a minute, not wanting to go back inside. Whereas the house had been empty when Sally left, the house was flat-out lonely without Trowa. Strange, considering the unibanged man had only lived there for four days before being called away, but that fact didn't lessen the amount of silence Wufei heard inside.

Not that Trowa made much noise. In fact, he was almost too quiet. Especially when sneaking up on his dark-eyed friend to plant a jade-painted handprint on his favorite tank top. Wufei laid his hand over the long-fingered print with a smile, wearing the same tank top despite the resilient paint. What conversation they had managed had been nice though, even when Trowa insisted on being mischievous.

Wufei wondered exactly when Trowa had become so playful. He wondered how Trowa could be so playful and still so damn easy to open up to. Sally's teasing humor had made him clam up in angry defensiveness, but those emerald eyes always bore past his defenses.

In those two short days, he had learned a great deal about Barton. His favorite color was sky blue, his favorite food was chicken, he was scared of heights (Wufei was puzzled over that one—he needed to wrench out a back-story somehow), he spoke decent Chinese, he enjoyed tinkering in the yard since he hadn't learned to appreciate earth's beauty until after his time in the colonies, and he couldn't paint without making a mess.

Trowa had probably learned a considerate amount about him too. As they were digging holes in the yard, Wufei had somehow ended up explaining the origins behind Nataku, the name bestowed on his gundam. Trowa had listened without judgment, just as he had listened the night he lost the fight with Trieze and the night on Libra after he had defeated Trieze. He had asked Trowa if he had ever cared for an enemy. Not loved, just cared for. Trowa had said yes, telling him about an Alliance spy called Une.

Giving up to the slight chill in the wind, Wufei turned back to the house, deciding to fight the loneliness by taking a hot shower and heading off to bed with a good novel.

He woke to a tickling sensation on his nose. Jerking up his hand to flick the source of said annoyance away, he hit something rather large and solid.

"Good morning, boyfriend."

"Barton, what are you doing?"

Trowa shrugged. "Quatre called. He wants us to meet up for lunch at his house. If I'm going, you're going because Relena might be there. You wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of the vice foreign minister, would you?"

"How would I be responsible? What did you put on my face?"

"You wouldn't have been there to stop me. A dandelion. They appeared in my garden while I was gone. And you left trash by the door." Trowa tucked the yellow weed behind Wufei's ear.

"I tried my best. How was the mission?"

"Successful. Heero joined me yesterday morning, so we had little chance of failing. By the way, you have fifteen minutes before we have to leave."

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!"

"Because you look so cute when you sleep, darling."

Wufei threw the spare pillow at him, sitting up and sliding out of the sheets. His book had been discarded on the floor several hours earlier, so he bent to pick it up and lay it on the nightstand. Before he could straighten, the pillow was politely returned to the small of his back, knocking him over into the carpet.

"You do understand this could be war."

Trowa held up his hands. "I surrender. Not like you could beat me anyway."

Wufei grabbed the pillow. "Your surrender is not accepted." He lunged up at the older man, only to hit comforter as Trowa darted off the bed and out the door. Running quickly behind, Wufei followed him into the living room, cornering him near the fireplace. "Prepare to face feathers, Pilot 03."

"Not if you can't catch me, 05." Kicking off the wall, Trowa flipped over Wufei, landing with a light thud behind him. Wufei quickly grabbed his arm, pulling Trowa towards him, close enough to attack with the pillow in his other hand.

"Looks like I caught you."

"Not quite." Trowa fell backwards onto the armchair, causing the still-attached Wufei to stumble on top of him. Wufei dropped the pillow, catching himself just seconds before their faces crashed together. He glared at the smirking man centimeters away.

"I've still caught you."

"What are you going to do about it? You've discarded your only weapon." Trowa's breath played across Wufei's lips as he spoke, the gentle heat reminding Wufei's body it had been too long since his last kiss.

"You're right. We've reached a bypass." Wufei released his hold, jumping off his friend and the armchair.

"That we have." Trowa stood up, smoothing out his turtleneck.

"You're startlingly gullible, 03."

"What?"

Wufei quickly picked up the pillow and drew it back for another hit, causing Trowa to hightail it to the safety of the bathroom where he could lock the door behind him.

They were twenty minutes late. As punishment, Wufei was sent to pick up the food and Trowa was forced to make his sister's lemonade. Noticing Relena wasn't present, Wufei considered it alright to leave his pretend boyfriend unattended.

When he returned with the pizza, he dropped an item in Trowa's lap after he placed the to-go boxes on the dining room table. Trowa picked up the object, mouth turning upwards when he discovered what it was. "So you were paying attention."

Quatre leaned over, inhaling. "Isn't that a china berry?"

"It's also called a gardenia, but yes."

"Why did he get you one of those?"

Duo elbowed Wufei in the ribs. "Yeah! We all know you're cheap, Fei, but couldn't you have loosened a wee bit more for your lover? Where's the bouquet of roses?"

Trowa shook his head, fondling the short stem of the flower in his long fingers. "He knows they're my favorite. Gardenias grow on bushes, so gathering a bouquet really isn't logical." He brushed his lips against Wufei's cheek. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome, _darling_."

Upon Wufei's chosen term of endearment, the others at the table burst out laughing. Duo teased the amused Chinese man through his snickers, "Who are you and what have you done with Chang?"

"What are you babbling about, Maxwell?"

"You baby-talking Trowa! I didn't think the word darling was in your vocabulary!"

Wufei smiled, brushing his thumb across Trowa's jaw-line in a delicate caress. "He is my darling, but I suppose calling him my gardenia would be all the more accurate. His eyes are as emerald as the leaves. His skin is as white and soft as the petals. He's a presence in my life as sweet as the flower's scent."

The table was stunned into silence. Underneath Wufei's thumb, Trowa's cheeks burned with a fierce blush. His voice was calm, but no-one missed the waver in his words. Wufei thought he had pushed the acting too far, but the other ex-pilots believed Trowa's voice was effected by his own sentimental emotions. "Did you really have to say that in front of everyone?"

Wufei shrugged, removing his hand in case the older man decided to bite it. "I consider myself to be a blunt person. I say what I feel."

Quatre wiped at the happy tears under his eyes. "Wow. That was the most romantic I've ever seen you."

Heero smiled as he picked up a slice from the box. "No longer worried about how deep Wufei's feelings for you run, Trowa?"

The man in question cleared his throat, sending a warning glare to the grinning American before he could chime in. "Let's talk about something else."

He didn't glare hard enough. "So, Tro, what do you call Fei? You're his precious flower, but what is he to you?"

Trowa sent a little smirk to Wufei, who knew revenge was swiftly heading his way. "He's my rubber ducky."

Taken aback, Duo blinked. "Why?"

"Because he makes bath time fun."

Sitting in the passenger seat of Trowa's truck after lunch, Wufei sighed. "I suppose I deserved that."

"Yes, you did. You were making fun of me."

"When?"

"My eyes are like the leaves? My skin is as soft as petals? I can't believe they even fell for such bullshit."

For the first time, Wufei realized Trowa didn't know he was beautiful. Of course, despite the French man's confidence in his own abilities towards missions and piloting, Trowa was incredibly insecure about his worth as a friend and as an individual. Wufei quietly decided to correct this inaccurate self-discrimination. "I was not attempting to mock you. I meant what I said."

"You don't have to lie anymore. No-one's here but me."

"I'm serious, Trowa—your doubt of my honesty is insulting. I've always found you to be physically exquisite."

Trowa's mouth formed a small 'o' as he blushed for the second time that day, this time out of surprised pleasure instead of humiliation. After a few silent moments of driving down the highway, Wufei nearly missed his soft reply. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome."

"I thought you said you weren't going to romance me."

"Am I?"

"Getting me flowers? Flattering me? I remember Sally saying more than once that you never even opened the door for her. You seem to have little troubling doing stuff like that for me."

Wufei didn't want to delve into reasons behind the comparison. "We're acting. And you have small expectations in comparison to her."

"Has she found out? Said anything?"

"I'm sure she has, but I haven't met with her since last Thursday. The pitying looks have disappeared, though, so Operation Desperate appears to be working."

"Operation Desperate?"

"Yes. In fact, several agents have congratulated me for 'scoring' you. Others are jealous I got to you first."

"Desperate?"

"Are we not?"

Trowa shook his head with a low laugh. "From terrorists, to heroes, to desperate. What happened to us?"

"We won the war."

"We need to start a rebellion."

"And face Heero Yuy?"

"Eh, scratch that idea."

Wufei nodded, watching the gaps between buildings grow longer and thicker with trees. As they arrived at their house, Trowa tapped his fingers against the steering wheel nervously before cutting off the engine.

"Hey, Fei?"

Hearing his name shorted usually irritated him, but coming from Trowa, Wufei considered the personal nickname a pleasing testament of their growing friendship. "Yes?"

"You're exquisite too."


	4. Truth Behind Plans

**Little bit of a twist in this one. **

Wufei nearly ripped off his shirt, hurling it down to the porcelain sink, seething as the fibers of the polyester uniform stuck in the honey dripping down his back. This wasn't the first time Duo had snuck honey down the collar of his uniform, but it was the first time the top of the bottle had fallen off during the pour. A river of thick, yellow liquid was now plastered to his skin.

Grabbing a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, he stuck them under cold water before scrubbing at the offending substance. The only positive point of the situation was the bathroom being empty besides him.

Not to Wufei's surprise—or to his pleasure—Trowa soon entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him before he leaned next to him on the sink. "Would you like some help? You ran out of the lunchroom pretty fast."

"I don't need your help."

"You missed some spots."

"Get out."

Trowa gently removed the wet wad from the Chinese man's grip, taking a fresh paper towel and folding it in a square. Waiting for the tap to become hot, he ran it under the water before tenderly working at the sticky honey Wufei couldn't reach. "Those katas you do really work wonders." He lightly traced the well-defined muscles underneath his fingers. "You're making my aerobics seem weak."

Wufei flexed underneath the teasing touches, forgetting his irritation and the fact that Trowa could see his delighted smile in the mirror. "You approve?"

"Of your physique or in your choice in condiments?"

Remembering again the reason why he was spending the rest of his lunch hour in the men's bathroom, Wufei's smile disappeared. He picked up his shirt and started working on the stain setting in. "That damn Maxwell! Why does he insist in making me miserable? He doesn't single any one else out this way."

"Don't be so angry at him, Wufei. Duo only starting playing these jokes on you so you would feel more included in the group."

Wufei paused in his scrubbing. "Run that by me again?"

"I know most time it seems like Duo's only being annoying, but don't forget he was an international terrorist. He goofs around with you because you have a tendency to close yourself off in groups. Either that, or become incredibly haughty because you easily feel excluded."

"He's still a pain in my ass."

"Maybe if you spent more time with him, perhaps he'd be able to find less painful ways to make you join in."

"Forget it, Barton."

As Trowa opened his mouth to reply, his beeper went off. Frowning, he read the message quickly. "I have a mission."

Wufei was unprepared for the rush of fear those words brought. He never had reason to worry over Trowa's abilities before, not counting the time when he was amnesiac. "Alone?"

"Probably with Heero again."

"Be careful."

"Naturally."

Arriving home a day later, Trowa was disappointed to enter an empty house. He had enjoyed having Wufei there after the last mission, even if he was sleeping at the time. When he came downstairs from unpacking his duffle bag and calling to leave a message on Wufei's cell phone that he was home, he was surprised to find Quatre standing in the kitchen. "Well, hello."

"Good afternoon! I was in the Preventers office when Heero came in to turn in the records you two rescued. Hope you don't mind that I let myself in, but I came to tell you that Wufei took Duo to the local baseball game. Not a date, mind you, but he said he was acting on some advice you gave him."

"Oh, that's good. Thank-you."

"By the way, is that a new trashcan?"

"Yeah. Wufei was getting irritated with the other one, so I bought a bigger size. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything with chickens on it."

Quatre grabbed an apple from a bowl in the kitchen before sitting in the living room, reclining in Wufei's armchair sideways, throwing his legs over one side. He took a bite out of the apple with a grin. "So, how's it going?"

"Haven't you learned better than to gossip?"

"It's not gossip if it's true. Does Wufei know yet?"

Trowa sat down in front of Quatre on the chair, leaning back against the blonde's waist. "How can I tell him? If he finds out, he'll reject me simply out of leading him on. I never should have tricked him."

"He still thinks you're in love with me?"

"Not hard to believe considering you _did_ break my heart during the war."

Quatre winced at the memory, sitting up to rest his forehead against Trowa's brown hair. "Have I mentioned I'm sorry about that? And that if I were gay, you'd be the first man I'd run to?"

Trowa smiled, tilting his head against his best friend's. "Only thirty-five times. I forgave you at thirteen."

"Guess I'm lucky Wufei stole your affections."

"I still have trouble deciding if it was his gorgeous eyes or his perfect chest. Or his passion. Or maybe his genius."

Quatre laughed, not trying to hide his amusement. "Or his way with words? That flower speech he gave the other day was very dreamy."

Trowa fought down a blush, remembering the way Wufei reached for his hand before they had gotten out of the truck. "That too."

"So when are you going to tell him? You've loved him since the war, you're single, he's single, you're gay, he's bi, you're living together…"

"We're only living together because of the plan you created."

"I still can't believe you decided to follow through with it. My Preventer briefcase still has ranch sauce residue on it."

"I still can't believe you got me kicked out of my apartment."

"Your landlord has an overwhelming desire for money. He was easy to pay off."

"Why did you do it?"

"Because you wouldn't have pursued Wufei if I hadn't. I was tired of hearing you moan over him without doing anything about it. It's not your style."

"But duping him to pretend to date me?"

"Is it working?"

"I don't know, honestly." Trowa stiffened, looking towards the front door at the sound of Duo's convertible. "They're back. Don't give anything away."

"My lips are sealed."

Wufei burst through the door, a navy baseball cap askew on his head. His eyes quickly scanned the room, gaze sharpening into a glare when he saw Quatre sitting next to his housemate on his armchair. Duo followed soon behind, munching on the remains from a crackerjack bag. "Hey, guys! You two missed the best game. Tied until the bottom of the ninth."

Trowa stood, adjusting the hat on Wufei's head. "Is that why my boyfriend looks so grumpy?"

Duo whispered under his breath, "He was in a great mood before he saw Quatre's car in the drive." He cleared his throat, speaking in a normal tone. "So, I guess if Tro's back, that means my baby's home! I'll catch you all later."

Quatre swung his legs off the chair. "I'll follow you, Duo. I've got a conference this evening with my sisters and I need to freshen up beforehand." He patted Trowa's back with a wink, throwing his apple core into the new trash can with a graceful arc.

Wufei waited until they left before turning on his pretend boyfriend. "What were you doing with him?"

Trowa tapped the cap so it fell over Wufei's eyes. "You know, you're really handsome when you're ticked. You get all flushed."

Ripping the hat off, Wufei threw it onto the couch. "Answer the question."

"You're acting almost as if you're jealous."

A slow burn rose up into Wufei's throat, matching the red burn spreading across his cheeks. "I'm not jealous. I'm concerned about your well-being. Surely you cannot get over your infatuation with Winner if you continue to remain in close proximity to him. You were practically in his lap!"

"I still want Quatre to be my friend, even if feelings happen to resurface when he's near. What does it matter, anyway? Who said I wanted to get over him?"

"You did when you proposed this stupid plan!"

"No, I didn't. I said I wanted to fool him into believing I was in love with you. Never said I wanted to move on."

"You should be. Holding onto hollow dreams will only be hurtful in the long run."

Trowa shrugged, turning away to slice an apple on the counter. The sadness evident in his words was all too real, unable to escape from Wufei's perceptive hearing. "Holding onto dreams is better than facing an empty reality."

Wufei rested his warm hands on Trowa's shoulders, anger dissipated and replaced by confusion. "What empty reality are you facing? You are loved greatly by your family and your friends. You have a steady job you enjoy. You have a home."

Laying down the knife, Trowa studied the equal four slices of red-and-beige fruit resting against black marble. Pushing the edge of one with his fingers, it wobbled in a steady half-circle before bumping against another slice, a section of the same whole it used to be a part of. "I have everything I wanted as a soldier. I should be happy."

"But you're not, are you?"

"No." Trowa turned around, tears that surprised them both framing his emerald eyes. "I want the man I love to love me back, Wufei. I'd do anything, go through _anything_, if it would make him feel the same way…"

Wufei instinctively drew Trowa into an embrace, wrapping his arms around the narrow waist tightly. He didn't normally like being so close to another person, someone who had the capacity to hurt or betray him by dying. But holding the taller man felt right to him, a warmth forcing him to notice just how well their bodies fit against each other, just how quickly Trowa relaxed into his arms with a soft sigh. "You shouldn't limit yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"Perhaps there is someone else out there for you besides Quatre."

"I don't think I deserve anyone right now. I've been lying."

"But you deserve to be happy."

"So do you."

Wufei closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and catching the subtly masculine scent that was purely Trowa Barton. As he turned his head, he felt his lips brush the pale skin of Trowa's neck. Pulling back as if the touch was on accident, he wondered to himself how happy they could make each other, as a couple. For real.


	5. Secrets Come Out

**Sorry this chapter took so long to post. Life should send warnings when it's about to get topsy-turvy, eh?**

Wufei settled onto the grass, crossing his legs beneath him as he closed his eyes. An hour of martial arts practice had him physically and mentally prepared for mediation. A light breeze cooled off his skin, also capturing a few stray hairs and sending them ticking across Wufei's cheek. Smoothing them back with a flash of annoyance, he remembered why his hair never seemed to stay tied back anymore. Every opportunity Trowa saw, the French man stole away the hair band and proceeded to play with the onyx strands. Not the he minded, really.

Exhaling slowly though his mouth, Wufei attempted to clear his mind again. He matched his breathing to the rhythm of his slowed heartbeat, relaxing while keeping his body in perfect position. The morning sun was warm against his bare torso and before he realized the image was invading his meditations, he suddenly visualized Trowa's long body wrapped around his in bed, as it was that morning when he woke. Trowa's head was cradled against his shoulder, his lips parted slightly in sweet sleep after a night of terrorizing dreams which had sent him into the Chinese man's room before the dawn broke.

Wufei sighed at the recent memory, laying his hand on his shoulder where Trowa's had lain. He regretted detangling their legs, pushing Trowa gently back down onto the sheets as he rose from bed, leaving him there bathed in golden light from the window as he left the room for his exercise routines. It had been nice waking up with someone. More than nice. Especially since that someone was Trowa.

Giving up, Wufei stretched out on the ground, opening his eyes to the baby blue cloudless sky. It was the same sky as yesterday's, encasing the baseball stadium and reflected in the hood of Quatre's car in his driveway. Admitting to himself that he was intensely jealous knowing the blond and his pretend boyfriend were in the house alone together, as also admitted to himself that he no longer wanted anything to remain pretend.

He was in love and it was consuming him.

Wondering if Trowa had gotten up yet, he brushed the grass off his pants and walked towards the house, taking in the enchanting fragrances of the garden as he passed. The closer he got to the door, the more a nasty scent intruded on the natural smells of the earth. A nasty scent which reminded him an awful lot like smoke. Bursting inside, he ran to the kitchen just in time to see Trowa leaning over a flaming frying pan with a spatula raised in the air. Shaken out of shock at Wufei's presence, he dropped the utensil and jumped away from the stove. "You could help, you know!"

Wufei patted out the small fire with a dishrag from the sink, laughing as he did so. Being able to witness Trowa being anything other than elegant had to make him smile, despite the putrid smell seeping into his nostrils and the black circle now on his ceiling. Those emerald eyes were quite endearing wide and stunned. Placing the rag next to the smoking pan, he cupped Trowa's cheek, leaving sooty smudges. "Next time, let's go to a diner, alright?"

The older man pouted, wiping off his face. "I thought it would be a kind gesture to make you breakfast after you let me sleep with you."

"Thank-you, but I don't like bacon."

"It's not bacon."

Disposing of the charred substance in the trash, Wufei didn't dare ask what it was supposed to be. "You got your sister's cooking skills."

"Catherine cooks just fine, Fei. She approves of you, by the way. You're the only other pilot that didn't try to kill me or encourage me to fight. Of course, if she knew the way you comment about her soup, she might change her mind."

Wufei pulled out the instant oatmeal from the cabinet, preparing two bowls. "She didn't approve of your crush on Quatre?"

"Actually, she was the only person to warn me about Quatre's heterosexuality right after I regained my memory."

"Did you know you loved him while your memory was gone?"

Taking the bowls, waiting for Wufei to stir some cinnamon and cream in both, Trowa sat down at the table with a groan. "I knew I was in love with one of you. Something in my…heart, I guess…told me you all were important to my life. But as to who had my previous romantic interests, I was unsure. Quatre was very protective over me, but I remembered flashes of time spent with you and Heero, and Duo was the first to find me. Not that it mattered. The war was more important."

Wufei took his seat beside his friend, setting down two glasses of orange juice. "Agreed."

"Of course. You didn't date Sally until after the Barton problem. Three months, two weeks, and five days after."

"You memory works fine now, apparently."

Trowa shrugged. "Apparently. How was the game you saw with Duo this week?"

"I did not understand the finer points of the activity, but the atmosphere was pleasant. Removing Maxwell from the group did make him easier to handle and we did hold several conversations without the presence of practical jokes."

"You see? Listening to my sage advice does pay off."

"This coming from the one who nearly burned down the house."

"Heh. I'm sorry." Trowa stretched out his legs in his embarrassment, accidentally brushing against Wufei underneath the table, causing the latter to wonder just how many fires Trowa planned to start. Edging away to curb his reaction, he cleared his throat.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Does it pertain to my lack of cooking finesse?"

"No."

"Go ahead."

"How can you be afraid of heights and hold a job as an acrobat?

"Wondered when you'd get around to that. My first captain in the mercenaries trained his soldiers in areas which directly involved their phobias—heights, darkness, closed spaces, whatever."

"That seems rather cruel."

"He had his reasons. For one, he didn't want us to get complacent. If you are competent enough to survive a few years as a merc, sometimes you forget you can die. Facing our irrational fears was a great reminder of our mortality. Secondly, he showed us just how ridiculous those fears were in the face of war. Hard to be afraid of falling when you're being shot at."

Noticing the sudden flicker of sadness across his friend's face, Wufei laid his hand across Trowa's on the table. Never before had he felt sorry for any of his comrades despite all their troubled pasts, for he believed trials to be the fire which either purifies or destroys the spirit depending on the strength of the individual. The ex-gundam pilots were not weak, and that included Trowa Barton. But the rush of sympathy which prompted him to run his thumb across the slender man's knuckles would not be denied. "You deserved a better childhood."

Trowa choked back a sardonic laugh, retrieving his hand and pushing his chair back to stand. "I was a ruthless killer. I deserved what I got. Do you want more to drink?"

Refusing to be brushed off, Wufei stood as well, his dark eyes stubborn. "You're a good person, whether you accept the fact or not."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I've done to you."

Surprised but unrelenting, Wufei held his ground even as Trowa tried to brush by him to escape the kitchen. He grabbed a handful of turtleneck, balancing his weight on his straightened leg while keeping the other bent so he wouldn't be toppled over. "Tell me and I will decide how my opinion sways."

Trowa tried to jerk away, failing when he heard the thread in his shirt threaten to rip. "You'll throw me out."

"You have my word that I will at least help you find another place to live."

"So comforting." Knowing Wufei would now never let him go with a complete explanation, Trowa accepted the game was over. He silently vowed to exact his revenge on Quatre for prompting him into this. "You know how yesterday I said I didn't deserve anyone because I've been lying?"

"You feel guilty for deceiving Quatre although you love him."

Trowa tried to pry off Wufei's fingers to no avail, worried how quickly they could form a fist. "Well, I do feel guilty for deceiving my crush, but it's not Quatre. In fact, this was all Quatre's idea. Granted, I didn't have to go along, but I would have done anything." Unable to avoid Wufei's confused gaze, he winced. "I'm sorry."

"I don't understand. Who were you attempting to make jealous, if not Quatre?"

"I wasn't trying to make anyone jealous! I was trying to make you fall in love with me!" Deciding his dignity was more important than his turtleneck, Trowa pulled backwards, causing the material to shred apart. Since Wufei was currently blocking the most natural exit, he slid across the counter and started to run outside.

In the second it took for Trowa to slide over, Wufei's brain took the time to process this new bit of information. All of their 'performances' in front of their friends flashed like lightening through his mind, all the times Trowa touched him or flirted with him. Before Trowa could make it through the door, Wufei had him tackled to the floor, struggling beneath him to get away. "Let us clear this up."

"Get off!"

"I thought you wanted to hear my opinion."

Trowa frowned at the cold tile beneath him, feeling sick to his stomach. His voice came out in a whisper as his throat closed up in a desperate attempt not to cry. "Don't, Wufei. Please. I'm so sorry I lied to you and tricked you. But living here with you, eating meals with you, waking up next to…just _being _with you as been wonderful. I couldn't make myself stop, and I'm sorry."

Wufei lowered his lips onto Trowa's neck, hearing the other man gasp as he nipped gently at the soft skin. "You done?"

"Y-yeah."

"If I understand correctly, you loved me enough to attempt a fool's scheme, hazard our friendship for a chance to be more, and risk the trust of our comrades?"

Noticing Wufei had relaxed his grip, Trowa turned over, studying the handsome face above him instead of the floor. As his instincts told him to take the chance to flee before Wufei released his fury, his body still shivered from the feel of Wufei's kiss on his neck, and his heart pounded with hopeful anticipation. "Yes."

"You did all that and you still expected me to be angry?"

"You're…you're not?"

Wufei reached behind him to pull out his hair band as he balanced on one hand. Trowa nearly moaned as the silky hair fell across his face and bare chest, a sensation he'd only dreamed of before. "No, I'm not mad, Trowa."

"Then…how do you feel?"

"Like I'm in love." Wufei arched down so his lips were a mere centimeter away from Trowa's. "Guess your plan worked." Smiling for a moment at Trowa's second gasp of the night, Wufei closed the distance between them.


	6. Darkness

**Loyal reviewers, ye rock royally. This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but the characters that dwell inside my head (who strangely do not belong to me) refused to shut up.**

**Let's hear it for those who really own the Gundam Wing boys, for without them putting the show in our lives, the number of yaoi fanfics in America would be reduced by half. Or more. **

**Yay sexy gay terrorists. **

Quatre cast a bored glance over his desk, the polished maple forgotten underneath layers of paperwork, most boasting the crest of the Winner family and a blank line awaiting his name. With a pout of resignation, he picked up his pen, ready to attack the mounds of evil sheets before him. Although his sisters had presented him with acceptance when they learned of his desires to join the Preventers with his friends instead of immediately taking on his duties as heir, they had yet to halt the downpour of 'important documents' requiring his approval.

Like the addition of an extra bathroom in the L1 office building really needed his grand approval.

Fiddling with the embossed cap of his pen, he tried to will a distraction his way. A mission. A new rebellion. A call from his ticked girlfriend after he forgot the one-week anniversary of their first kiss. Heero could threaten to kill her repeatedly and still have her love. He wasn't allowed to momentarily forget a redundant anniversary. He didn't quite think that fair.

Needless to say, the phone failed to ring. But as he pushed the cap aside to again raise his pen, the door to his office flew open, revealing a smiling Trowa on the other side.

"Oh, am I interrupting?"

The pen flew back down to the desk. "Not at all! Come in a take a seat, my friend. You know you are always welcome in my home."

Trowa took the seat across from Quatre, pulling the chair around when he couldn't see the blond properly above the stacks of paper. A beaming smile crossed his face, one never witnessed before by his best friend. "You're a genius."

"That's very kind of you to say! Um, but what for?"

Unsure how to phrase his response without sounding like a giddy schoolgirl, Trowa rescued the discarded writing utensil and scrawled a message on a blank envelope: _Wufei said he loves me. _The second he held the note up, Quatre squealed and jumped over for a hug, nearly sending them and the chair flying backwards.

"That's so wonderful! I'm so happy for the both of you! How did it happen?"

Laughing softly, Trowa returned the hug before Quatre returned to his seat. "Well, I told him the truth behind our game. Expecting him to be angry, I started to leave, but he told me he loved me too. He even kissed on me."

"Do I need to call in a censor?"

"Ah, no. Nothing really sexual happened after that, but it was very nice all the same. He helped me off the floor—long story—and we spent the rest of the day fooling around in the kitchen. By fooling around I mean cooking. Or him teaching me how to cook. Then we ate dinner on the porch, wrapped together in a blanket even though it wasn't cold. And when I started to go to the guest room to sleep, he pulled me into his room so we could lie beside each other all night."

With expert practice, Quatre held back a chuckle at Trowa's uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "Can I tell him now?"

"Who? Heero or Duo about the truth?"

"No. Wufei about how many times you've called me lusting over him."

"Quatre!"

"He should know."

"He probably has figured it out by now. And I was not lusting. I was simply admiring."

"Spying on him while he exercises in the morning is simply admiring?"

"That is seizing an opportunity to study the glories of nature around me. Wufei shirtless, sweaty, and passionately focused is glorious. But I really should stop doing that—I forgot about some sausages frying yesterday and they burned."

Quatre let the chuckle go and he patted Trowa's hand. "It's good to see you cheerful." A sad flicker crossed his blue-and-green eyes at a recalling of a memory. "Maybe it beneficial to you that we never happened?"

"Beneficial now, yes. Is that the reason you tried so hard to push Wufei and me together? Out of guilt?"

"Partly, but you really were getting rather pathetic."

"Gee, thanks. At least I didn't spill hot tea over my crush's lap."

"Relena forgave me for that. Now only if she would forgive me forgetting the anniversary…"

As Trowa starting probing into the anniversary problem, the beeper on his hip sounded off in an all-too-familiar ring. "I've got a solo mission. Immediately. Will you call Wufei and tell him where I've gone? He had to run by the office to drop off some files he rushed through this morning, but he should be home soon."

"Of course, Trowa." Quatre balanced on the edge of his chair to give Trowa another hug, his heart suddenly worried without offering a reason. "You'll be careful, won't you?"

"Yeah. I've got someone to come home to now. And send Relena some flowers at least, alright?"

Leaving a fretful Quatre behind, Trowa learned during his rushed briefing that a six-manned mission team had failed to report in or return home at the designated time two hours ago. He was flown north up to a mountain range recently plagued by rebel activity and thereby by Preventers agents. The rebels had been hoarding illegal weapons and using them to inspire hatred against the united earth sphere alliance, trying to regain their cultural identity by forcing nations to divide once more.

Trowa almost sympathized with them. Citizens across the world were worried about losing their unique culture backgrounds and traditions without boarders defining who they are, and numerous more were struggling with the absence of fees or taxes placed on their exported goods.

But terrorizing innocent cities was not the correct way to voice their concerns, so Trowa circled the base where the mission team had been sent to recover smuggled firearms. The sky in the mountains was already black, sending down occasional flakes of snow. Locating the back entrance of the building, Trowa stilled when he saw the silhouette of a woman sitting by the door, guarding the way with a rifle.

Tiptoeing forward, silent even while treading upon dirty sleet, Trowa pressed himself against the wall. The guard remained motionless, so Trowa let out a breath he had been holding, forming a cloud of white in the chilling air. The guard's chin was tilted on her chest, so Trowa inched forward with slightly less caution, raising his hand up in the air to strike from behind until he saw the trail of matted blood running down the guard's neck. Tilting the woman's head, Trowa found a bullet hole behind the corpse's ear.

Deciding either this rebel had been taken out by the mission team or by his own people, Trowa pushed by the dead into the building. Expertly finding the underground room where the weapons were supposed to be stored, all he found was several empty boxes, already turned over and apparently ransacked by the mission team. Planning on returning outside to see if their were any tracks leading away from the building, Trowa wanted to gain access to the roof first to get a panoramic view of the surrounding area. According to the blueprints he had quickly scanned over before leaving headquarters, there were no stairs leading to the rood, so he spotted the ventilation system, the useful steel canals which were often his ally during the war.

When he jerked on a metal panel above him, a lifeless body nearly fell on top of him as it started to fall head-first to the ground with the steel sheet. Like the guard, he had also been shot behind the ear and was clothed in the rebel uniform. Studying the physical features of the deceased man for a moment before placing the body on the ground, Trowa shuddered when he discovered this was not one of the rebel's faces he had memorized through blurred photographs at headquarters weeks before. This was Preventers Agent Cody Lawson, the young American who was often found sharing old music files with Duo on company computers.

He now knew what happened to the mission team. Anger rose in Trowa's throat when he realized they had been played, walking right into the rebel's deathtrap while they smuggled their weapons to a completely different base. Trowa reasoned the dead Preventers had been dressed as enemies either in a morbid attempt at mockery, or as a trap for any foolish agent like him sent on rescue. Crossing Lawson's arms over his chest in a symbol of respect, Trowa decided not to tempt his chances and started to beat a hasty retreat.

As if on cue, the ground under his feet started to rumble and he heard a series of detonations thunder in the opposite site of the building, continuing while rapidly heading in his direction. Using his acrobatic skills, Trowa jumped up several flights of stairs before leaping into a storage room in the stairwell. The heat of fire seared across his back as the impact of an explosion caught him in his leap, throwing him against the room's concrete wall and rendering him unconscious as the base crumbled around him.

He was cold, almost as cold as the days he drifted among the stars, losing his memories to the white scatter of lights puncturing the blackness of space. Trying to feel around him in the dark, his legs moved against layers of dirt and his left arm refused to respond. Trowa wondered if he should be experiencing pain, but his body seemed too frozen to care. Dust trickled down across his neck, muffled booms ringing in his ears, and a subdued voice he couldn't distinguish echoing above him.

Suddenly, he was lifted upwards and the pain he wondered at before made its presence known without mercy. He tried to scream, but a darkness having nothing to do with the absence of light closed in on him once more. When he came to again, the world was still dark and painful, but at the same time it was also warm, calm, and smelling slightly like sterilization. Realizing he was in a raised bed with an oxygen mask, he removed the offending piece of plastic and sat up.

"Oh, you're awake! Good."

"Sally? Why am I in the hospital?"

"You experienced a shard of shrapnel entering your upper left arm, bruised ribs, relatively ninety-six hours without food or water, and temporary blindness due to flying debris. You were lucky. How do you feel?"

"Oh." Trowa felt around his eyes, not finding any wrappings to cut off the light as he expected. "How long will it be until I can see again?"

"We're guessing a month, if not a little longer."

Gritting his teeth at this aggravation, Trowa strained his hearing again to catch activities in the world around him. The rustle of Sally's starched uniform sounded from beside his bed, along with the clanking of plastic tubes against metal. He guessed she was placing a new packet to feed into the IV stuck in near his elbow. Machines beeped in the rhythm of his heartbeat. "Is anyone else here?"

"They only let doctors and family in. We can't call your sister until the papers about your mission clear."

"The mission failed. The team was killed off before I got there. The guns were probably never in that building in the first place. We were fed false information."

He felt a gentle hand pat his right arm. "We can't win them all."

"Were any of the mission team rescued?"

"No, Trowa. I'm sorry. The bodies of Agent Sarah Dix and Toturi Takagawa were found outside. The rest are assumed to have burned up in the explosions."

Waiting a few moments, listening to the scratching of a pen to paper, he shifted uncomfortably while brining up another sensitive subject, but one that would thankfully get his mind off of the fallen. "Sally, we haven't really talked since Wufei and I…"

"Don't worry. I'm glad he found someone." She flicked Trowa's nose playfully, encouraging him to lay back down. "Especially someone so cute. Besides, Wufei's your problem now. You get to deal with his stubborn ass."

"But it's a very attractive ass."

"Too bad it's got a stick stuck up in it. I'm surprised you complimented his backside aloud."

"It's the drugs." Trowa shook his head side to side on the pillow, trying to clear his mind but only making his head feel heavier than the rest of his body. Even without his sight, the world around him suddenly seemed fragmented, like a bullet after impact. Trying to divert his thoughts away from bullets, like the one in Agent Lawson's head, he attempted to focus on his surgeon again. "What was in that? I feel like I'm floating."

"Just a generous dose of pain killer. You're getting drowsy, so go ahead and get some more sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

For the first time in Trowa's life, he was woken up by the pressure of another's lips to his cheeks, his mouth, his brow. Groaning softly, he reached up and grasped onto silky hair, a familiar velvet texture assuring him of his own survival, as did Wufei's tear-stained cheek against the back of his fingers. "They let you in?"

"I punched out the doctor who kept telling me I couldn't. Then Sally let me back before I hurt anyone else. The others are trying to go through Lady Une to get in."

"You've been crying. Why have you been crying? I'm not scarred horribly, am I? Can't see a damn thing."

"I'll be your eyes until your sight clears, my gardenia."

"Don't call me that. You haven't answered my question."

Wufei kissed Trowa's forehead again, almost glad the older man couldn't see the red circling his onyx eyes, the evidence of little sleep and less food. "You nearly died."

"I'm hard to get rid of. So if you think you're ever going to break up with me, tough luck on that."

"Tough luck if you ever wanted me to try. Are you in any pain? Do you want me to get you anything?"

Trowa tugged on the hair he treasured dearly. "You sound weary. Take a nap up here with me, if you can avoid the tubes. Then you can smuggle me in a nice, juicy hamburger." Wufei obeyed the simple command, dropping out of the conscious world instantly with the warm and fortunately alive body pressed up to his. Waiting until the sleeping man's breathing evened, Trowa searched for and nearly violently pressed the button which would directly administer a new dose of sorely needed painkiller into his veins. "Sweet dreams, Fei."

Arriving home a few days later, after fighting off his sweetly concerned but incredibly overbearing friends, the first task Trowa wanted to do was take a bath. Getting sponged down by the nurses was not only humiliating, but also never left the French man feeling thoroughly cleaned. After allowing Wufei to fuss over him only long enough to run the tap, he shooed the shorter man out so he could slowly get himself out of his clothes and bandages.

Carefully easing down into the hot water, Trowa felt around the rim of the tub for the soap. Not coming across the slippery square, he stood so he could grope into a nearby cabinet and find a new bar. As he stepped forward to extend his reach, his foot made contact with the missing soap, throwing him off balance and plunging down into the tub. Spitting out a few curse words, as well as a few mouthfuls of water, at the pain shooting down his ribs, he aroused Wufei's attention.

Wufei quickly ran into the bathroom, bursting through the door to find his ticked off boyfriend sitting in the middle of his bath. Besides where Trowa was holding his sides which were colored in dark purples, blues, and blacks, everything seemed in order. He relaxed, brushing back plastered brown bangs from unfocused emerald eyes. "Are you—"

"Don't you say a word! I can handle this on my own."

Wufei bit back a laugh as he reached down in the water for the soap, lathering up a washcloth and running across Trowa's back. "And deny me the chance to see your gorgeous self unclothed? I think not."

Trowa arched against the soothing cloth, wearing a smile if nothing else. He may not have secured the mission or the soap, but he seemed to have caught Wufei pretty well. "Mmm. You present a convincing argument."

"You present a delicious image. If you weren't currently in unstable physical condition, we could really make bath time fun."

"Hmph." Trowa leaned backwards again, not completely sure how much he was revealing, but hoping it was tempting. "Can't we make bath time fun anyway? You could join in me in here, you know."

"Actually, there's an important discussion I want to have with you, and it's best to introduce this topic while you're relaxed."

Trowa frowned, bringing up his knees to cover himself. "You mean when you have me at a disadvantage. I'm already blinded and disabled, what more do you want?"

"That was not my intention at all."

"And it apparently wasn't to see me naked. What the hell is it?"

"I want you to quit mission work."

Trowa caught the washcloth, throwing it in the direction of the voice near him, frowning when it missed and he heard it slap against the jade tile walls. "You're having a bad reaction to my accident. You've ruined my soothing bath and I don't want to talk about this now."

"Why not? Your lack of vision hardly impedes your ability to verbally debate with—"

"Do you always have to talk like an aristocrat when you're upset?"

Wufei rubbed the bridge of his nose with a damp hand, a burning sensation pricking his eyes. "Please listen to me, Trowa. They called me the night your building collapsed. Do you have any idea what it's like to hear someone you don't even know tell you the person you love is dead? Do you have any idea?"

"They thought I was dead? But I was obviously searched for. If they counted me as KIA, why would Preventers bother with the search?"

"The search wasn't through Preventers. Quatre, Duo, Heero, and I ignored headquarter rules and went to the building site ourselves. We dug in the rubble for three days. Quatre located Dix and Takagawa immediately, but it took three days before Heero finally found you wedged between a broken wall and a section of the collapsed roof."

"So you all figured I survived and rescued me. I'm greatly appreciative."

"We weren't expecting to find you alive. Heero had you cradled in his arms before he even realized you were breathing."

"Death is a part of this job I've accepted."

"It's not acceptable for those who love you!" Wufei stroked the shoulders of his boyfriend frantically, trying to make him understand the meaning behind his words, despite knowing the concept of placing love over duty went against everything drilled inside Trowa's head. "Please consider another job."

"But what else could I do? I'm not intelligent like you and Heero, or political like Quatre, or good with people like Duo. I'm a solider. That's _it_. That's all I've been trained for."

"You could be an instructor for the Preventers. We've been searching for anyone talented and patient enough to teach new recruits that don't have any previous fighting experience."

"So instead of killing others, I'd be showing others how to kill?"

"If you feel better by painting it in that light, fine. But you'd still be protecting the peace you helped create—isn't that why all of us eventually gravitated to the Preventers? You'd just be protecting peace in a different way. By passing down the legacy."

"And this would make you happier?"

"Considerably."

Trowa's jaw tensed as his fists curled under the water. Fighting was his why of life, as natural to him as breathing. But he didn't want to attempt imagining how Wufei had felt after the phone call. Wufei had only been in love with him for a short time, in contrast to Trowa's love for Wufei spanning over a year. If he ever received a similar call…The calls Lawson's young widow would be receiving soon…"Under one condition, Chang."

"Name it."

"You become an instructor too. You're bored in your desk job and instructors make almost the same amount of money. Between the two of us, we'd could still live here. And although you are short on patience, you love marital arts."

"I love you more than any martial arts. If your heart desires it, I'll become an instructor too."

"I hate you right now."

"I understand."

"And I love you so damn much."

Wufei smiled with relief, slipping into the bathtub completely clothed in order to once again fully embrace what he had almost lost. "I understand that too."


	7. Revenge

**Seven! *insert old joke about seven eating nine***

Agent Barry Dalton considered himself a steadfast man. He had joined the Alliance's ranks when silver already tinged his dusty red beard, serving for nine long years before turning his heart away from his corrupted officials. Leaving his lovely wife and grown children in the city they had all been raised in, he had wrapped his wedding band in a bandana once worn by his fallen brother, keeping the bandana in his pocket as he joined the rebel forces.

For eighteen even longer months, he battled from the shadows for freedom, food, and the right to be heard. His bones protested more fiercely than his younger comrades when they slept on broken concrete, during the times they were given opportunity to sleep. Thanks to his then fully-grey hair, he earned the nickname 'Wolf-hound' among those youthful soldiers who had nothing to lose—wolf because he fought without mercy, hound because he was a friendly presence to have lazing around the campfire. He also got a bit slobbery when he drank too much.

When the gundams materialized seemingly from the air, he felt in his soul the answer to his prayers had finally arrived. After the war, the gundams victorious, Barry joyfully returned to his family. When the Preventers established headquarters nearby not long after, he knew it was his duty and his privilege to serve under the same roof as those five pilots.

It still made his steel-blue eyes water over when he realized his grandchildren were older than Agents Yuy, Maxwell, Barton, Winner, and Chang.

But despite his steadfast, loyal nature, he was growing impatient to go home. Rose most likely had the day's roast still warm in the microwave as she slept upstairs in their bed, white hair illuminated by the lamp kept on to guide his safe return. The occupant of the cell he was guarding simply refused to talk, no matter how many of the Preventers' best entered the cell on half-hour intervals to cajole, threaten, or terrify the captured man.

Barry had learned there were two types of soldiers: those who fought for their ideals and those who fought for the glory. Those who fought for their ideals were rare. They were also very reluctant to leak information. He reasoned the only reason the man had been kept alive so long was due to his involvement in the recent affair where several agents had been lost, nearly including Agent Barton. But if the man did decide to talk, perhaps they could eliminate the problem they've been having with the weapon-dealing insurgents.

Barry groaned, leaning against the wall to itch an uncomfortable spot on his upper back. He tapped the heel of his rifle against the cold floor lazily, only to snatch it up in aim when he caught the flash of blond hair towards the end of the hall. "Who's there?"

Quatre stepped forward, holding up his hands. "No need to shoot, Agent Dalton. My friends and I just desire a word with your captive."

Barry fingered the keys on his hip, clutching the metal pieces tighter when Agent Yuy and Maxwell joined their friend. "The next questioners aren't due to the cell for another seven minutes."

Quatre flashed him a brilliant grin, lowering his hands with his palms turned upwards. "That's all the time we need."

"With all due respect—"

"Aw, come on, Dalton!" Duo slung an arm around the elder veteran's shoulders, grasping his shoulder with a surprisingly strong grip. "We just want to thank this guy for the job he did on our buddy Tro, alright? Won't cause any trouble for you." The dark gleam in the blue-and-violet eyes left little room for argument, so Barry handed the keys over with a shudder. "Good man! I'll stay out here and keep you company while Quat and Heero slip inside, alright?"

Barry turned his gaze to look straight ahead and not at the young man who still had his shoulder in an iron clasp. His teeth grounded against each other as the heavy door opened and shut behind him. "And this visit, as you call it, is to remain between us, I'm guessing?"

"Always on top of the game, aren't you, buddy?"

"I owe a great deal to you and your friends, Agent Maxwell. You can trust me to keep silent on this matter."

Duo patted his arm, releasing his hold. "Always nice to hear. By the way, do you know where the superglue the secretaries use is kept? I've got to pay a house call tomorrow and I've found my supply sadly lacking…Oh! Finished already?"

Heero and Quatre emerged from the dim room, the former shaking his fist as if flinging off dirt. "Yes. Let's go."

Without seeing the action, Barry felt the weight of the keys on his hip. "Thank-you, Mr. Dalton. Your kindness will be remembered." The three ex-pilots disappeared back down the hall, turning the corner. As Duo rounded the curve, he turned and gave Barry a haunting smile which made the old man, for a brief second, believe he was looking into the face of death itself.

Shaking off the sensation, he only had to wait a minute before the next set of questioners arrived. Running nervous fingers through his thinning beard, he stood aside as the door was opened again. Ringing from inside the concrete box were the shouts of the prisoner: "I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! _Please_, let me talk!"

Agent Barry Dalton really wanted to go home.

The next morning, several miles away from headquarters, Trowa stretched in the warm sunlight streaming in from Wufei's bedroom window. Or, rather, their bedroom window. Ever since his last mission, Trowa hadn't even laid down on what used to be his bed. Stretching with a content sigh, he turned to his side and snuggled up to the other man sharing his pillow. "Morning, Fei."

Wufei laid down his book, entwining his fingers in the brown hair currently making itself comfortable in his lap. "Good morning, gardenia."

"Reading again, my rubber ducky?"

"Yes. You have an amazing ability to sleep past my designated time to practice my martial arts. How is your sight today?"

"You could have left to exercise. My sight is the same. Just shadows and I can definitely tell where the light source is."

"I would never leave you alone in your condition."

Trowa laughed, arching up to kiss along Wufei's face until he stumbled upon his lips. "Of course you wouldn't—you haven't. You've used up all your paid leave just to do it. But it's been three weeks. You've nursed me back to health just fine. My arm is nearly healed, my ribs aren't sore anymore, and you've kept me so pampered I'm getting fat."

Wufei slid down on the satin sheets so they were level, running his hands down Trowa's clothed chest. "You're not getting fat. You're filling out wonderfully."

"Mmm. Thank-you. But that reminds me that I am getting rather frustrated."

"Frustrated? Am I being overbearing?"

"Never. I meant sexually."

Glad that his love could not see the burn spreading across his face, Wufei placed a warm kiss on Trowa's forehead. "You know I would greatly enjoy becoming more physical with you. Sleeping next to you and bathing you has made sure of that. But we will do nothing strenuous until you are fully well."

Groaning, Trowa rolled to place his feet on the floor, sitting up on the bed, facing away from Wufei. "You're so unfair. You've only had to wait a month. I've waited a year."

Wufei slid his arms around Trowa's waist, leaning into the curve of the taller man's neck. "Waiting for me a year cannot compare to waiting for you a day." He couldn't resist giving in for a fleeting second and tasting the soft skin above Trowa's shirt. "But, you have not seen your reflection lately, so you have forgotten how beautiful you are."

Leaning back into the embrace, Trowa tilted his throat, silently pleading for more contact. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

Nipping his way along the tempting column of flesh presented before him, Wufei whispered teasingly against the curve of Trowa's ear. "You mean I have to use flattery?"

Gasping, Trowa attempted to regain the old mastery of speech. "That more would be fine. Enough. Please."

Wufei decided to add the breathless tone in which Trowa was speaking to his mental list of things he loved about him. Pushing Trowa back down onto the pillow, he continued his study of the blinded ex-pilot with his lips earlier carried on only by his eyes. He didn't have the nerve to tell Trowa that his ever-present novel had gone unread for two weeks. "Are you positive you are not in pain?"

"Positive!"

"And you would not lie to me?"

"No more tricks. I promised."

"Good." Wufei quickly but carefully pulled Trowa's shirt over his head, letting his hands explore the pale expanse, kissing the fading bruises gently. He fingered the edges of Trowa's boxers, folding down the elastic band to tease unexplored territory with his fingertips. With Trowa's moan, they didn't hear the door open.

"Woah! There's something I never wanted to walk in on." Duo turned from the bedroom doorway to yell down the stairs. "They're here! They're just having sex! Ooph!" He caught the thrown pillow as flew towards his head.

"What are you doing here, Maxwell?"

"We're just all checking on the resident patient, of course!"

"I was a lot better before you walked in, Duo."

"That's gratitude for you. Get dressed and meet us downstairs before someone starts getting worried."

When Duo retreated back to the kitchen, Wufei rose off Trowa and the bed, gathering clothes for them to change in. "He should start worrying about his hair."

"Don't be mad. It's not like we can do anything with them in the house. We can continue after they leave."

"You have a doctor's appointment."

"Let's be bad boys and skip."

Wufei had to smile, covering the sweet skin he wanted to taste yet again with a turtleneck. "How naughty of you. Who do you think would flay me first? Sally, Quatre, or Heero?"

Smirking, Trowa stood and reached for his jeans. "Quatre's closer."

Wufei took Trowa's arm as they went down the stairs together. Squinting, the latter could make out the darker outline of his friends sitting around where the table would be. "Hey, guys."

Quatre immediately hugged his healing friend, giving into the need to validate Trowa's presence again, as he had almost every day in the past three weeks. During the war when Trowa was lost in space, he had seen hallucinations of the French man, so he never wanted to rely on vision alone. "It's great to see you with color in your cheeks. Is your sister still handling this well?"

"She's fine. She calls every day. And she sent more soup."

"Unfortunately."

"Fei!" Trowa shook his head in amusement, secretly loving the playful, bantering relationship already developing between his sister and his significant other. "Actually, could I have some? We haven't had breakfast yet."

Wufei jumped up from his stool as if he was given a mission assignment. He dished out a generous helping into a bowl, warming it in the microwave before setting it down in front of Trowa with a spoon. He laid Trowa's hand over the spoon. "It's directly in front of you. But let it cool for a second. It's still hot. You want some ice in it? Or something to drink?"

Trowa shook his head with a smile. "No. I'd rather you eat something too."

"I will wait until you are done."

To cover the contagious snickers coming from the surrounding onlookers, Duo opened the fridge, peering into its abnormally crowded depths. "You two have anything actually good to drink here? What's the point in cranberry juice?"

Wufei struggled back a biting reply, pushing the braided man away from the refrigerator. Reaching into the bottom drawer, he pulled out an armload of canned drinks, dropping them on the counter. "Better?"

"There should be some of those soft drinks you like, Duo. Wufei and I picked them up when he finally let me go out in public."

"Aw, you guys were thinking of me." As Duo reached for a can, a tube fell out of his sleeve and skidded across the counter. "Well darn. You think superglue would stay put."

Wufei snatched up the small tube, flinging it into the trashcan with enough force to make the container rattle. "What in the hell were you planning to do with that?!"

"Look, I'm sorry we irrupted your dismantling of Trowa's clothes, but that's no reason to steal my superglue. It took a long time for _me _to steal it. You ever deal with a ticked off secretary? Or is Tro here your personal secretary now?"

Coughing and pulling a fuming Wufei back by his side, Trowa decided to rapidly change the subject. "Has there been any progress on _dismantling_ the rebel force?"

Duo sipped at his soda, shrugging nonchalantly. "I've heard they captured one of them from up in the mountains and are holding him at HQ."

Trowa turned his head towards the sound of Duo's voice, identifying the correct shadow. He heard something snap in the hands of his boyfriend beside him, and he hoped it wasn't something previously alive. "Has he proved useful?"

Quatre nodded, picking the broken shards of Trowa's spoon from Wufei's clenched hands before they could pierce his skin. "Yes, actually. He's given away the coordinates of their bases, as well as the names of the ringleaders."

Wufei's voice was low with rage that had nothing to do with Duo's antics, the image of his love's broken body in Heero's muscular arms flashing before his eyes. "What is to happen to him?"

"For his cooperation, he walks, reimbursed for his…troubles."

At Quatre's words, Trowa sighed in distaste, remembering numerous mercenaries carrying the same greed. Shallow fools who would sell out their brothers-in-arms for their own personal gain. Some people would do anything for money.


	8. Snow

Wufei turned off his beeper before the piercing alarm could reach downstairs, packing up his clothes and loading his gun just as quickly. He had returned to work that morning out of necessity, anxiously leaving his boyfriend at home since he had regained a significant amount of his vision. As luck—good or bad he didn't know—would have it, he immediately learned upon entering headquarters how progress was being made on tracking down the rebel force.

His pace slowed traveled down to the living room, not sure how well Trowa would accept what he was about to do. Standing a few arm lengths away, he waited until Trowa noticed his presence and smiled. Trowa's smile quickly turned into a frown as he noticed the hazy colors of Wufei's clothes were still those of a Preventer's uniform, a drastic difference from the cool blues and whites he usually wore at home. "Why haven't you changed?"

"I have a mission."

Confused, Trowa spoke slowly, trying to understand the simple statement brought before him. "But you can't go on missions anymore. We resigned from mission work. Lady Une said it would be easy to transfer us into training positions when we turned in our papers last week."

"I only turned in your papers." Wufei couldn't bring himself to hand in his as well, not when those responsible for Trowa's near-death experience were still free. Still alive. "Heero and Duo will be joining me. Stay inside and rest yourself. Quatre will check on you tomorrow and I shouldn't be away from home long with their help. All that is left to do is to chase down the rebel force's ringleader, and his hideouts are numbered unless he dares the wilderness of the mountains."

"If you think I'll be here when you return, you're kidding yourself. You lied to me. You said no more missions for either or us. You promised you'd quit them if I did. My resignation was turned in, why wasn't yours?"

"I promise to explain it all to you when I return, but my intention was never to hurt you or to lie to you. Please understand that I have to see him taken down, for my own peace of mind."

Trowa glowered from his seat on the sofa, furious tears biting at the edges of his eyes. "Your presence won't change anything. If so little is left to do, they can do it without you. You wouldn't have gone on the mission if it was under normal conditions."

"This is not a normal condition." Wufei kept hearing that woman's voice over the phone playing in his mind, her voice practiced to sound sympathetic but stern. He knew she couldn't help him the way he had wanted her too, but he had asked her anyway. He knew because he was usually the man to make those calls, crossing off the names of the fallen as each family was contacted. _I'm sorry to inform you Agent Trowa Barton was killed in action at…I'm sorry, Mr. Chang, I can't answer that…Mr. Chang, if you would like to participate in our grieving services…_

_He's dead? Why is he dead? Why is my love dead?_

"I have to go." Wufei placed a kiss on Trowa's forehead, brushing back the tears that had yet to fall over. "I love you."

Not rising after the front door closed quietly, Trowa slept on the couch that night, waking often when the wind would force itself against the door, making him think Wufei had arrived back home. In the early sunlight, his heart jumped into his throat when the phone rang, terrified that he'd get a call similar to the one his love had received not long before. His fears were angrily released on the poor telemarketer who dared to greet him with an obnoxiously cheerful 'Good morning'.

Deciding to spitefully ignore Wufei's warnings to rest, he made his way out into his garden after breakfast. He had been wondering how his plants had fared after weeks of neglect and he welcomed the distraction away from his love life. Feeling along the flowerbeds lining the house, he came across tall, green shoots that he didn't remember planting. Leaning down and sniffing, he wrinkled his nose at the distinct smell of onion. Pulling up the onion grass by the root, he jumped at the sound of wheels on the driveway.

"Trowa? What are you doing out here? I thought Wufei said you were supposed to stay inside unless supervised."

Pouting, Trowa for once wasn't glad to welcome his best friend into his shared home. "He's overprotective and he's obviously too busy getting his ass kicked for no reason to keep an eye on me."

Chuckling, Quatre kneeled down, getting the knees of his khakis dirty as he helped weed the struggling garden. "Having a lover's spat?"

"So what? It's not like you and Relena never fight."

Having learned to take Trowa's insults as a red flag for evidence of the French man's insecurity, Quatre playfully nudged him in the ribs. "He loves you, which is what you've wanted for months. I know. You told me every single night since we joined the Preventers."

"You've made your point on that. But he's being hypocritical. He promised that he'd become a trainer if I did so there'd be no more dangerous missions for either of us. I was mad at first, but I realized just how scared I would be if I lost him. How hurt I would be if he got hurt, or worse. How empty life would be after finally feeling complete. Then he goes off on this escapade for his stupid sense of justice."

"You love his justice rants, which is a standing testimony of just how much you've fallen for him. But you know this isn't for justice. Or for revenge, as others of us are apt to indulge in."

"Then what is it?"

Quatre tried not to shriek as a worm fell on top of his ungloved hand, thankful Trowa could not clearly see the grimace on his face. "Your protection. He has to have proof with his own eyes that the man who hurt you won't be going after you again. Doesn't it feel nice to have a knight dash off to defend your person? If you stop looking at it as hypocrisy, you might find the romance hidden behind his actions."

Trowa had to smile, wondering how Quatre always knew the right words to say. "He has gotten rather romantic, hasn't he?"

"Please. It chokes the rest of us to watch how much he dotes over you."

"Hey, you could learn a lot from him! Relena wouldn't stay so ticked if you'd dote on her half as much as Wufei does me."

"She's a woman and I'm not Heero. She'd find something else to complain about."

"You're such a guy, Quatre. How did I love you back then?"

"I'm not sure even how Relena loves me now, much less how you loved me then. Speaking of time and its past events, remember when you started falling in love with Wufei?"

"You're changing the subject, but yes, I do. After Heero destroyed the last piece of Zech's ship in space, Wufei came to tell me goodbye, thinking we'd never see each other again. I was still nursing the heartbreak you gave me, fresh again since I had to relive it a second time when my memories returned."

"I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. Catherine was a little late in warning me you were straight though. Could've stood to have heard that a couple months earlier. Anyway, Wufei clasped my hand in his. Right hand and right hand. He got the handshake wrong. His hair was looser than normal, and he had a strand falling across his forehead."

"You're losing track of the story."

"You've heard it several times before. Why do you want to hear it again?"

"Honestly, I could stand not listening to it ever again, but I'm trying to get a point across."

"Drive it home, 04."

"You can't let a little argument get in the way of your love."

Trowa fingered the bud of a yellow rose, hoping his sight would fully return soon so he could watch it bloom. "You're right. You're absolutely right."

"Thank-you." Quatre picked up a discard onion, turning the grubby bulb in his manicured hands. "Out of curiosity, why are these killed? They have life within them too, just as the beautiful flowers do."

"Because they kill other plants. But if you start getting philosophical in my garden, you're going home."

Quatre laughed, a clear ringing sound that never failed to make Trowa feel glad to be alive, romantic love or no. "I brought you some of that ice cream you like so much. Since Wufei's been controlling your diet, I'm guessing you haven't had anything sweet lately. And according to Relena, sweets are the perfect indulgence after a fight with your boyfriend."

"I didn't think she was one to eat sugary foods."

"Eat them, throw them at me…At least it makes making up rather interesting when you're covered in cherry pie."

"Quatre, with all due respect, I really didn't want to know that about your sex life."

The Winner heir blushed, not having meant his words to be taken in a perverted manner. His flustered protests fell on deaf ears as Trowa's mind starting racing for a plan on how to welcome his beloved home.

As the two ex-pilots gardened underneath the hot sun, Wufei spent the afternoon sitting on a bank of snow, waiting for the Preventers helicopter to find a safe area to land after the previous night's blizzard altered the landscape in the mountains. Heero kept himself entertained by continuously walking the perimeter of the valley they found that morning, Duo by chatting constantly to Wufei, trying to keep the onyx-eyed agent's spirits up. Duo's feet were propped up on the corpse resting in the snow, the trickle of blood from its left lung frozen from the biting air.

Wufei tried not to remember that it was his bullet resting in the man's broken flesh. He believed his bullet deserved a better home than that. At least the ringleader hadn't been hard to find, not with the coordinates gleaned from the captured informant. Headquarters has specifically mentioned to bring the ringleader back in one piece, but they had forgotten to say in what state of life. Heero and Duo hadn't protested when Wufei pulled the trigger, considering they would have done the same if Wufei hadn't carried a larger right to the honor.

When the helicopter finally found stable land on a frozen lake, they all carried the dead body to the machine, strapping it in on the spare seat. Wufei dozed under the offered blanket, returning home from the Preventers long after the sun had set. As he reached his front door, he let out a deep sigh, wondering what battle waited inside the wooden door. Taking off his boots, still holding little packs of ice in their crevices, he walked inside, searching around for Trowa.

He found him in the kitchen, already dressed for bed. "You're still here. I'm glad."

"How was the mission?"

"Successful." Wufei tried not to sound unsure of himself, but he knew he was not allowed to share specifics about the ringleader's take-down with Trowa since the latter had been removed from mission work. "Have you kept busy?"

"Gardened. A lot."

"You did it alone?"

"Quatre."

"Oh. Did you have a good time? I know you've been concerned about the condition of your plants."

Trowa remained silent, opening the refrigerator and bringing out a carton of ice cream Wufei didn't remember buying, popping off the lid and pulling back the plastic sheet. "Can I help you with that?"

"I don't need your help. Haven't you done enough already?"

Wufei slowly stepped forwards, placing his hands on Trowa's shoulders, rubbing his thumbs against the tension built up under the pale skin. "But I want to help you. It's all I've wanted to do since we found you."

Trowa shrugged him off, turning sharply away from Wufei's still open hands. "Go get a shower. You're filthy."

"But—"

"Just go!" Trowa jabbed a spoon into the classic sweet, keeping his back turned away from the discouraged Chinese man.

Deciding not to aggravate the situation farther, Wufei did as he was told, scrubbing off under a pulsating stream of hot water, letting the hours of tramping through snow flow down into the drain. Keeping his hair down after the shower was over, hoping to gain at least an ounce of pity, he cautiously stepped back to the kitchen. Trowa was stirring the spoon around in the now melty ice cream, leaning against the refrigerator.

"Take off your shirt."

"What?"

Emerald eyes flicked towards him, unreadable and still slightly unfocused. "You heard me. Take off your shirt."

"Alright." Baffled, Wufei placed his t-shirt on top of the stove, nervously adjusting the elastic band of his pants as he waited for Trowa's wrath to pass over. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Gasp." With a smirk, Trowa plopped a generous helping of vanilla soft serve onto Wufei's shoulder, sending freezing rivers down his arm and indeed earning a startled gasp.

"_Trowa_! Dammit, I just got warm!"

"Don't worry so much. I'll clean it up."

Wufei nearly melted as well when the cold sensation was replaced by the moist heat of Trowa's tongue lapping up the white liquid. Gripping the countertop behind him tightly, he shivered under the dual feelings. "I thought you were mad."

"You thought wrong, for once. As adorable as you are dirty and sweaty, I'd rather not eat off unclean surfaces."

"You had me...ooh…"

"I had you?"

"Worried. Had me worried."

"Consider it payback for making me worry about you." Trowa squinted at the bronze blur in front of his eyes, running his fingers lightly across the muscled curves to see if all the ice-cream was gone. "Did I miss anything?"

"Mmmhmm." Wufei tapped his fingers against the curve where his shoulder met his throat. "Right here."

Following Wufei's arm to the designated spot, Trowa gently sucked on the sensitive skin, biting gently when he didn't taste any vanilla. "There's not any up here."

"I know. But it sure feels good."

"Tastes good too, you cheater."

"I'm not convinced that my cheating has any negative repercussions."

Trowa backed away, dipping the spoon back into the carton, bringing it to his lips and slowly licking the substance off the shining metal. "Oh, there's a punishment for cheating, Chang. As a trained fighter pilot, you should know better."

Wufei's eyes were intently focused on the mouth wrapping around the arch of the spoon, unconsciously leaning forward. With anyone else, he would have protested being toyed around with, but the teasingly seductive tone in his boyfriend's voice had his body already aching with anticipation. "And that would be…?"

"You're not going to get any sleep tonight."

"I'm not?" Wufei shook his head, trying to focus despite the fact there was now a turtleneck being discarded onto the floor. "You're still healing. Maybe if you hadn't been on your feet already today, but you've been working in the garden. You've strained yourself far enough as it is!"

"Shhhhhh." Trowa held up a slightly sticky finger to Wufei's lips, tracing the worried frown he found there. "If you're gentle, we don't have to worry about me getting hurt, now do we? Can you do that for me, Fei? Be gentle?"

Wufei swept Trowa in his arms, breathing in deeply the scent of the taller man that he had come to know so well. Kissing him softly, he tightened his hold in promise. "Always. No-one will hurt you again."

"I love you, Fei."

"I love you too."

"Are you up for this? You did just get back from a mission."

"Definitely."

"Mm. Don't forget the ice cream."

**One more chapter to go! **


	9. For Real This Time

**The rather belated final chapter to Trowa and Wufei's game. Thanks to everyone who's kept reviewing through this story's journey!**

Chang Wufei had found his place. The one spot on the earth and colonies where he could truly be at peace, content for the first time since he was a small child. His masters had described the nature of this place, telling him that he would one day find it within himself. Wufei had always believed them wrong, searching outside of himself in studies, then in nature for it when he reached earth. Turns out, they were all wrong—the place was not within himself, in his books, or in the wilderness. The place was in another person. Waking wrapped up in his arms after a long night of being wrapped up in his heart.

Gently brushing back Trowa's damp hair away from his peaceful face, Wufei spent an hour simply watching him sleep. Reluctant to move away from his lover, he only did so when he realized the dried patches of ice cream and testaments of their lovemaking could eventually irritate Trowa's pale skin. Standing up without a care to his state of undress, he held back a laugh at the overturned tub of ice-cream lying on the floor. Stepping over it, he distractedly hoped the substance wouldn't discolor the carpet. He wet a washrag with warm water in the bathroom, bringing it back to his lover to clean him off.

At the new sensation, Trowa stretched and sleepily batted the washrag away. Peeking open his eyes, he smiled at the blurred but marvelously unclothed ex-pilot before him. "Mmmm. M'ning, Fei."

Capturing Trowa's lips with his, Wufei dropped the rag over by the ignored ice-cream tub. "You mean good afternoon, gardenia. Late afternoon. We spent our good morning to better use."

"Oh, it was very, very good."

Feeling both incredibly pleased and embarrassed, Wufei pulled Trowa out from under a twisted sheet and cradled him on his lap. "I'm glad you found it worthy of your long wait. No pain at all?"

"None. It was better than I imagined. And I imagined frequently."

"Oh did you now?"

"Only when you were exercising, when you let me play with your hair, when you were caught up in a rant, when you were covered in honey, when you were grumpy at your desk, when you were sleeping, when you were pillow fighting with me…" Trowa nibbled at Wufei's earlobe teasingly when he noticed the Chinese man's grin. "Don't get cocky. It wasn't all of the time—just most of it."

"I wish I knew sooner. I was blind never to notice."

"You had your own love life to deal with. Though, after last night, I can't see how Sally could stand to leave you."

"I was surprised to find that you stayed. You said you'd be gone when I returned."

"I was angry, so I said what I didn't mean. Do you really think I'd leave you after going through such means to finally have you? We had a fight. We made up. We did a great job at making up, if I do say so myself."

"As pleasurable as it would be, we can't solve all our arguments through sex."

Trowa mock pouted, resting their foreheads together. "That's sad news. But really, Fei, we've solved an argument before through compromise. Of course, you fell through on your end of the bargain on that one…"

"Let me explain, please."

"No need. With Quatre's help, I've come to understand. I'm content this time to know that you broke your promise because you love me so much. Just never, _ever _do it again. Or you'll find yourself missing a couple inches, and we'll both be dissatisfied."

Wufei laid a protective hand over his threatened manhood, wondering how in the hell Trowa managed to pull off Heero's piercing glare without his vision completely restored. "Understood."

As Trowa nearly purred under the gentle caressing, Wufei's mind wondered back into years past, the days of his young marriage to a girl he barely understood. She and Trowa were different in so many ways—fire and ice, zealous and logical, warrior and soldier. She thought him to be weak, challenging him when she believed he had no honor. Trowa thought him to be strong, challenging him only when he believed Wufei was acting _beneath_ his honor.

He wondered with an unexpected sadness if he would have grown to be a good husband. He realized suddenly he wanted a second chance to find out.

Startled by the thought, he held Trowa closer to him, burying his face into the slender man's shoulder. He had never wanted to marry again, to be forced into a weak institution simply because of tradition and expectations. With Sally, he would have been satisfied to have spent their lives together as live-in lovers, nothing more. He thought that was all that was needed. Titles about such matters were trivial to him. But as Trowa sighed blissfully, sending a warm breath of sweet air across his cheek, he could not push away the desire for more.

Wufei didn't know if he could stand another ceremony, so with swift decisiveness characteristic of his nature, he decided he would go about marriage his own way. And since he had come to this conclusion, there was little point in waiting. "I have to go."

Trowa pulled back, peaceful state violently broken. "Alone? You're leaving me the morning after?"

"There's something I need to do. It's not another mission, but it is just as important." He pressed his lips to Trowa's forehead, trying to lessen the sudden frown on his boyfriend's face. "It's a surprise."

Scooting off his lap, Trowa stalked around the room for his clothes. "I don't need surprises. I need you, Wufei."

"I need you as well." Walking over to help to upset ex-mercenary button his pants, Wufei attempted to kiss away the still present frown. "You deserve a medal for putting up with me."

"You really have to go?"

"I promise you'll understand when I return."

"Alright. But if you break this one, I swear you'll regret it."

Not going to forget Trowa's earlier threat any time soon, Wufei nodded before walking towards the bedroom door, thoughts full of frantic half-conceived plans.

"Wufei?"

"Yes?"

"Get dressed first."

"…Right."

"And take food with you. You're running on pure sugar."

Wufei opted not to tell his significant other he sounded exactly like his overprotective, overbearing sister. "Yes, darling."

"And kiss me goodbye."

"Gladly, my gardenia."

Leaving the house fully dressed and stuffed full of instant oatmeal, Wufei drove directly to the bank, taking out the rest of his meager savings. Although doing so would result in tighter times for them in the future, he knew as an ex-mercenary, Trowa would appreciate the price placed behind a gift. Trowa needed to know he was worth more to him than money. Or anything else in the galaxy, for that matter.

Driving next to the outdoor mall—a place he had previously avoided like disease before—he stood in front of the jewelry store. Gazing into the window, he tried to figure out which ring Trowa would like the most. He'd never seen Trowa wear any such trinkets before. The French man would appreciate a ring with the symbolism it carried in Western romantic culture, but Wufei wanted to give his love something truly from the heart. Something that would prove beyond words just how deeply he felt for him.

Turning away, he grimaced as the ominous rows of outlet and specialty stores outlining the busy street. One of them had to hold such an item. He refused to go home empty handed.

As Wufei was out scouring the town for the right gift, Trowa took a long shower and cleaned up the vanilla stains from the beige carpet as best he could. Settling downstairs with 'breakfast', he debated on whether to mope or to float around the house.

Deciding his body remained much too sated for the former, he sent Quatre an email thanking him for the ice cream—it had been put to excellent use.

When Wufei returned home as the shadows were lengthening outside, he found Trowa curled up in the armchair wrapped up in their comforter. The news station playing on television was switched off when he cleared his throat. Trowa straightened in the chair, letting the thick blanket fall to his sides. "Welcome home."

"Nice to be home. I am forgiven?"

"Hard to stay mad at someone so sexy. So what's the big surprise?"

"I have something for you." Wufei handed a jeweled flower to Trowa, who took it with cautious fingers and held it close to his eyes.

"Is this a gardenia? It looks like one, but it doesn't feel like one. It feels hard." Trowa tapped the green stem, caressing the item in his hands.

"The petals are made from white quartz, the leaves and stems from jade. When your sight fully returns, you'll be able to see a diamond in the middle of the petals."

Trowa felt his throat tighten, causing his voice to waver when he was finally able to speak. Throughout his life during the war, he had owned only what was essential for war or survival. Afterwards, he accumulated a few possessions he prized simply for being unnecessary—sentimental, even. His picture of Catherine. The clown mask he wore during the circus. The flute he bought to play with Quatre again. But none of those had been a gift. He was shocked Wufei thought him valuable enough to entrust him with an item so beautiful and expensive. "You really got this for me?"

"And this. A last minute thought." Wufei plopped down a yellow and orange object in Trowa's lap. When Trowa picked it up, the object quacked.

"It's a rubber ducky!" Trowa couldn't help but laugh out loud, caressing the smiling plastic animal to his cheek. He laid the duck and the flower on the coffee table, reaching for his love's hand, kissing the palm warmly. "I love them, Fei. But why?"

Wufei sat on the edge of the low table, keeping his hand in the taller man's. "First off, because I adore you. Secondly, because I know you'd find an engagement ring out of place coming from me. Honestly, I don't want an engagement."

"Wh…What?"

"I love you. We haven't been together very long as a romantic couple, but we've been friends through war and perhaps worse. You've already become so central to my life, giving it purpose and light. You're smart and considerate and strong—"

"Wufei, are you _proposing_ to me?"

"In a way, yes."

Trowa stood up suddenly, bringing Wufei with him as they were still joined by the hand. Unbelieving, he stared into the Chinese man's face, trying desperately to distinguish the expression there. "You're serious. A wedding? Those things with all the dresses, tuxedos, cake, guests?"

"I don't want any of that. I know you're the one I for me and I know I'll do my damned best to make you happy. No wedding can determine if you're my spouse or not, no more than can my words and my passion. My heart and my spirit tell me I want you to be my husband. Starting right now."

"Right now?"

"Right now. Will you?"

"Are you kidding? Yes!" Trowa threw his hands around his lover's neck, laughing again when Wufei twirled him around the room happily. "Mr. Trowa Chang. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

Wufei kissed his new husband deeply. "Sounds perfect."

"How are we going to tell everyone, Fei? This is insane! Wonderfully so, but insane."

"We'll have to change the personal information in our records, as well as your last name officially. This shouldn't be difficult, considering you don't have a name legitimately. They will undeniably discover the truth then."

"You realize they'll demand some kind of celebration. Not a wedding, but some kind of gathering. My sister especially. Our sister."

Wufei's gaze flicked to the ornate gardenia, unease in his voice. "We may have to wait awhile for a celebration, unless the 'bride' side of the family would be willing to pay for it."

Chuckling, Trowa nuzzled against Wufei's shoulder. "We're broke now, aren't we?"

"Thoroughly."

"I'll go back to work next week. Even if I can't see one hundred percent, I can begin setting up a training course." Trowa ran his fingers through silky onyx hair, never again to be bound up beyond his touch. "We can save up for next year, then we can travel to what used to be Ancient China. You've always wanted to go."

"Very much so. But would you enjoy such a trip as well?"

"I always enjoy being with you, minus the times we're arguing. Although, I must admit, having you loving me in return has been much more enjoyable than when you were pretending."

Wufei smiled, scooping Trowa up in his arms and carrying the slender man up to their bedroom. "I assure you, this time it's real."

**Owari!**


End file.
